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This entry is courtesy of guest blogger Carla Dunn. Carla is a senior broadcast communications major at LMU.

Summer break… that coveted few months every student looks forward to each year for sleeping in and taking a break from school work. For me I had an extra reason to be excited about my 2011 summer break. I was given the opportunity to be an intern at NBC affiliate WBIR Channel 10 in Knoxville, Tenn. I remember the joy and excitement I felt when I got my acceptance letter late one night. I might have awakened my dorm neighbor with my shout. Shortly behind the excitement was the nervousness of thinking about what my summer might hold for me. I would be working alongside news anchors and reporters that I have watched on TV since I was a child. The question that came to mind was…would I be prepared? I was entering my senior year as a Broadcast Communication major, and had already completed the majority of BCOM classes.

WBIR Reporter Stoney Sharp

First there was an orientation, a sort of meet and greet where I discovered the other interns who came from as far away as Texas, were just as nervous as me. A week later my first full day was on May 2ndand I soon found my niche with the Channel 10 family. Everyone was extremely nice, and very willing to answer any question I had. I worked mostly with reporters Stoney Sharp and Steve Butera, who offered tremendous amounts of advice and guidance you can’t find in a classroom. For that I am very grateful to them. I also developed a much greater respect for reporters, because not only are they reporters, but they are backpack journalists (BPJ’s). They are the writer, camera man, editor, reporter, and countless other jobs that go into making a news package rolled into one person. Oh, and they must have all that done for the six o’clock news.

WBIR Reporter Steve Butera

My favorite part of being a reporter for the summer was going out into the community and meeting countless precious people. The stories that you cover might not always be good news stories, but the people you encounter along the way of bringing the story to the viewers is very special. One gentleman in particular was dealing with the power outages in Knox County from the storms earlier this summer. He was also blind, a diabetic and required special care daily, but he was a blessing to me because of his optimistic attitude and outlook on life that he shared with me. While we were in his home the electricity came back on and he cried tears of joy. Those kinds of stories are special, and allow WBIR to live up to their motto, Straight From The Heart. They’re a family at Channel 10 and now I feel like I am a part of that.